


Communication is Key

by Skippyjo94



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bottom Tony Stark, Communication, Explicit Consent, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Insecurity, Kinda, Light Dom/sub, Miscommunication, Multi, Naive Steve Rogers, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Rutting, Tags Are Hard, Tony Stark Has Issues, Top Steve Rogers, Wall Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-02 12:56:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20276275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skippyjo94/pseuds/Skippyjo94
Summary: "Is Pepper still here?""Yeah, I think she was just getting ready to leave. I'm sure I can catch her. Do you want-""Oh, no, definitely not. I was trying to come up with a better excuse than having you tell her I died."Steve stared blankly back at Tony, obviously missing something."Now I don't have to. Looks like we're both off the hook, Cap."Tony and Pepper broke up, like, for good this time, communication is rarely a thing, and Steve is very confused. But then, what else is new?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not super sure what I wanna do with this but I needed to make myself write to get back into things and I found a random prompt on Tumblr that apparently got me going. It's not great, it kinda did it's own thing, and I wrote it entirely on my phone, between like, 6pm and 2am so... Not my best work. I'll make the rest better though hopefully!  
Enjoy! Maybe?

"Is Pepper still here?" Tony asked, emerging from the lab for the first time in Steve doesn't know how many days.

"Um- yes? I think she was just getting ready to leave though." Steve gestures behind him at the door Pepper had just disappeared through. "I'm sure I can catch her. Do you want-"

"Oh, no, definitely not." Tony cut him off, shaking his head furiously. "I was trying to come up with a better excuse than having you tell her I died."

Steve stared blankly back at Tony, obviously missing something.

"...and it wasn't going quite as well as I had hoped." There was that look in Tony's eyes that was trying to tell Steve more than Tony's mouth ever would. The same look he always got when it was just the two of them.

The one that made something in the pit of Steve's stomach twinge.

"...but now I don't have to. Looks like we're both off the hook, Cap." Tony continued, like he wasn't sure how to go about conversing at the moment.

It has been awkward between them for a while now. See, Tony was one kind of person. Steve was his polar opposite.

There are various sayings about opposites. Opposites attract and a house divided against itself cannot stand are the two that Steve believes in. The problem is, they contradict each other.

Both are good descriptors to his relationship with Tony.

The man himself is just the balancing factor that Steve needs. He always maintains the same sense of level headedness. Rarely does Tony vary from what Steve has come to know as his baseline.

Some days that means he's way more keyed up than he needs to be. Other days, when Steve is maybe feeling a bit more lost, more set adrift by this or that, it becomes a grounding point in Steve's mind. Something familiar and steady, something he could rely on to bring him back to himself.

Still other days, it meant Steve taking care of Tony, at times wrangling him as one would a toddler, reminders to eat please Tony, sleep please Tony, don't combine explosive materials in potentially explosive ways please Tony.

Then it was entirely another thing when they were not strictly alone. Any time other people were involved, they butted heads something fierce. 

With the Avengers, Tony already had a different call than whatever call Steve made. Media presence Tony always got to take the lead on but he never followed through with the strategy agreed upon in planning. Upgrades, remodels, clean up, hell, even dinner was a point of constant dispute between the two.

But all of it related to other people. Somehow, if the two could just spend the afternoon holed up in Tony's lab, training together, either in the facilities Tony had put into his building or at SHIELD, or the one particularly memorable day they spent looking through old things of Howard and Peggy's, they got on just swimmingly.

He couldn't understand it.

And then had come The Day.

The Day had happened a little over two weeks ago now. It was about a week after they spent time bonding over Howard and Peggy (Tony in disbelief that his old man could've been cool like he was with Steve, Steve in disbelief that Peggy could've been nurturing like she was with Tony).

Pepper was stuck in board meetings all day. Tony had begged out of them due to an (admittedly legitimate) splitting headache (after a bad dive in the Iron Man armor the day before out on a mission).

They were sitting in the kitchen in the late afternoon, eating massive sandwiches, Tony because he hadn't eaten since the afternoon before, Steve because he needed so much food, all the time. Neither had spoken in nearly an hour, just being companionable, reading on their respective mediums. 

Tony came across a particular article on his tablet that detailed the history of some machine or another and figured it was exactly the kind of thing Steve should read. Catching up on history and all that.

So he leaned over and grabbed Steve's book, replacing it with his tablet.

Steve looked up, questioning. Tony gestured towards the tablet with a 'go ahead' glance.

Steve read through the article quickly. Tony remains impressed by how fast and how much Steve reads. People often forget, with the way Cap looks, that he's damn smart too.

Brains and brawn, a lethal combination, Tony likes to say about him. Partially to make him blush.

Partially because it's true and he feels like someone needs to remind Steve that he has more than just his muscles.

Tony is intimately acquainted with people valuing you for only one thing, and what that does to your sense of self worth. He definitely doesn't want anyone else to deal with that.

Plus, that blush...yum.

Today was one of those days he felt like reminding Steve.

So after discussing the article a bit, some additional context given by Tony, additional historical information from someone who was there from Steve, Tony jumped in.

"You know, it's a shame you didn't get better opportunities schooling wise. I'd be interested to see what all you could do with that big brain of yours."

And, wow, did that sound suggestive or was Steve imagining it? He's never been good at reading these kinds of things.

They had ended up shoulder to shoulder, Steve could feel the heat seeping into his bones.

Sharing just enough intimate space, while being complimented for something he's usually decently insecure about (because he's constantly surrounded by the biggest minds in science and technology, as well as THE spies), his usual blush doesn't quite cut it.

He's sure Tony can feel the added heat coming off his whole body. Granted, it's always been a well known fact, Cap runs hot.

Add onto that the fact Tony looks directly at him right when he feels the heat reach it's climax, he's not sure he'll ever recover.

Tony studies his face a moment, then drops his hand from the counter to his knee where it touches Steve's.

Steve follows the gesture in his peripheral vision, then looks up to Tony's face with his eyes before slowly turning his head so they were face to face.

Something in his look must have given Tony some sort of cue, because suddenly Tony's hand was on Steve's knee instead of Tony's.

The blush had receded enough, but somehow the intensity of the eye contact they now held brought on a flush of heat that was almost worse. Not the fast to come, fast to fade kind. The long, simmering kind that's uncomfortable still but kinda makes Steve never want to lose it.

"Boss, Ms Potts is on her way up in the elevator now." FRIDAY intones, breaking whatever moment had passed between the two.

Steve looks away, then back with some version of panic on his face, completely contrasted by Tony's look of being suddenly lost.

Steve had avoided Tony to the best of his ability for the next few days. They had only just started getting back to normal after that fiasco.

Fiasco. It was barely an event but somehow, in Steve's mind, it has been labeled a fiasco. 

Then again, nearly being caught having a moment with a man who had a girlfriend, by said girlfriend herself, might actually classify as a fiasco...

And now Tony was, what? Avoiding Pepper?

Oh no, had Pepper found out that something had happened between them? Not that anything had happened. But there were other times... This was not an isolated incident. And it had been happening with increasing frequency over the last couple of months...

Taking a deep breath, he decides they just need to address the problem. Deal with it so they can move on. Or at least so Steve can hopefully. Tony seems to be fine?

Odd.

"Listen, Tony, about that say, you know, what happened with us, I was, or, I guess it was just a bit, um, we-" 

Yes, this was going well for him.

"Steve," thankfully Tony cut off his stammering attempts at explanation before they could get any worse. "It's fine. I get it, okay? Water under the crazy high bridge, right? Super over, very done with. Message received."

"Oh, good, that's-" Wait, what message? What was fine? What did Tony get?

"Message received...? What message was received?" Steve racks his brain for a moment. " I don't remember sending anything..."

"Not literally, just the general feeling of the thing, you know? I understood where you are at with everything and I respect it." Tony looked away before saying this next bit. "And I'm sorry if I pushed it. At all. Not the intention, I swear."

"No, see that's the problem. Trust me, if anyone was in the wrong, it was me." Steve took a deep breath then plowed forward. "Having...feelings for a taken man is one thing, but spending time alone, having...moments together..."

Steve broke off at that, unable to put into words what he was feeling. Shaking his head and looking away, he finished with a simple but insufficient "I'm so sorry, Tony."

After a moment of silence, Steve looked back. Tony had frozen, mouth open like he was shocked by the whole thing.

It was Steve's turn to look confused. Had he entirely misread the situation? Had he made the whole thing up in his head like some crazy wishful thinking? And now in trying to fix it, made it into the very thing he was trying to fix?

"Oh. OH! Ohhhh, you don't- I mean, I figured- but then I guess you wouldn't with the whole... Oh no."

Clearly the two of them excelled in communicating.

As Tony stammered, consequently making Steve feel less like the idiot he thought he had been moments before, he moved in closer, gesturing to this and that, between himself and Steve, the door Pepper had gone through, the lab, Steve wasn't quite sure.

The essence was definitely that Steve had missed something.

"We- Pep and I, we aren't together anymore. Yeah, we broke up about a month ago."

And just like that, Steve's brain turned off, all lights out, just to flip on again straight into overdrive.

"You- you never said..." Steve trailed off as Tony came another step closer, into Steve's personal space. 

"Yeah, we called it off. Decided if I couldn't be in it 100%, it wasn't really fair. To either of us." Tony cocked his head to the side, giving him a look that had his eyes trailing head to toe and back again.

"And not fair to the other person I'm interested in, either." His lips quirked into a smile. "Who I now have on good authority, has feelings for me."

Tony was practically on him now. The only thing stopping their noses from brushing were the several inches Steve had on Tony.

"What- but is that- does that mean...?" Steve lets the question fade, but it's okay because Tony is already in the process of answering. Just not verbally.

Instead, he's reaching one hand out to rest on Steve's hip bone and the other to rest on the back of Steve's neck.

"So-" Steve begins, nervous with the sudden contact, though not at all wanting things to go any other way.

"Nope, stop talking. Clearly we need to work on communicating but I vote we absolutely work on our nonverbals for a while before we move on to anything more complicated."

And with the slightest pressure of Tony's hand on his head to guide him down, not that it took much convincing on Steve's part, they did just that.

And that was how their first kiss led into their second, and then into a whole lot more after that. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve's "first kiss" may be more than just a kiss... Just a bit more... Like, microscopically more...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This doesn't really relate to the first chapter much other than it's the yummy kiss scene. But really it's just a general yummy kiss scene. Also, my first, so be gentle :)  
Or, I liked the first chapter well enough, and the story isn't involved enough that I felt it would be too hard to incorporate the sexys as a test run. Sorry to make it sound like a guinea pig in an animal unfriendly lab, but it's also entirely written on my phone.  
It's been an adventure y'all. Good luck, hope you enjoy! :)

Their kiss continued on well past the norm for a first kiss.

Tony, of course, was the more daring of the two. He had little hesitation once he set his mind to doing something.

This something he set out to do just so happened to be a national icon. No biggy.

They stuck to light but firm brushes of lips to start off with. He made sure there was plenty of opportunity to run, to back out if Steve was at all uncomfortable, but he also gave lots of very convincing reasons not to. 

He knows he's a good kisser. He's just not convinced of Steve wanting to kiss him yet, is all.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he felt something warm and wet flutter against his upper lip. Holy shit...

That's Steve's tongue.

Mind going blank for a moment, Tony gasped, unable to contain his shock. Steve, ever the strategist, took the opportunity and moved in. Somehow it turned quickly from Tony kissing Steve into Steve kissing Tony.

Tony couldn't have been happier to hand over the reins.

Once his brain came back online, there was all kinds of new information he needed to process. Namely, Steve's hands. They'd been at his sides when they started. Somehow they had moved under Tony's arms so his hands were on Tony's back, resting lightly just above and just below his shoulder blades.

Their chests brushed as they breathed, reminding Tony there was still a fair amount of space between them, all things considered. Which, huh, now that he thinks about it, that should definitely change.

Tony, for his part, is giddy at the fact that Steve seemed to be just as invested as Tony.

His hands had started innocently enough, one on Steve's hip, the other cupping the back of Steve's head and neck, not guiding, just encouraging. But Tony is not a patient man, so naturally, they didn't stay idle long.

His left hand snaked it's way along the waistband of Steve's jeans, to rest on the small of his back. Just the slightest bit of pressure brought Steve flush against him, chest to chest, hip to hip, legs slotted together like the most natural thing in the world.

His right hand stayed where it was, but his fingers, unaccustomed to being stationary, found Steve's hair. Just long enough for fingers to rake through, just long enough to get a decent hold. Nothing too solid, but enough to test his new partner.

Not yet though. Tony was not good at denying himself, always the fast and hard type, but here he knew enough to exercise some caution. This was going too well for him to do anything that would risk it not continuing. Even experimenting and collecting data on his new partner wasn't enough to entice him for once.

Odd, considering he'd never encountered a bear (or a Hulk, as it were) that he didn't immediately feel the need to poke.

He had no idea where Steve was at with all of this. He knew his experience in this century was limited at best, given Cap's apparent lack of interest in anyone beyond passing curiosity, occasionally extending to friendship. But even from before the ice, the only people Tony has ever heard Steve mention were Bucky, Peggy, Howard, and Dr. Erskine.

Tony was pretty sure he could discount Erskine as having given Steve any lessons in the sexual arts. Hopefully his father as well. Although he was never openly against any variance of sexuality, he definitely felt himself to be above such things. Tony was honestly unclear how he himself had come to be, the thought of his father being involved with another human enough to procreate was so foreign to him.

Which left Bucky and Peggy. Bucky...he supposes there's potential there. And he knows Peggy was at least a preferred choice on Steve's part, although he has yet to figure out the degree of return in that particular relationship.

Probably at least a little bit of experience with women, kissing at the bare minimum. Anything beyond that...

So Tony decided he needed to ere on the side of extreme caution. Well, he's never been one to back down from a challenge.

Plus, the thought of being solely responsible for the sexual education of Captain America made all his bits tingly, from head to toe. 

Man, teenage him would've killed for this opportunity. Even if they never did more than kiss...

But oh how he hopes they do.

Tony tightens his fingers in Cap's hair (you know, Cap, Captain America, who he's freaking making out with now) and dives in to meet the new found enthusiasm. One well placed nibble on Steve's lower lip and there it is. The most delectable sound Tony thinks he's probably ever heard: Steve groaning, slightly muffled by Tony's own lips.

He could feel the vibration of it, and the aftershocks shot all the way down to his groin.

Okay, he needed to get a handle on this quick, or at least get a read on Steve, see where he's thinking of taking this, if this is all he's planning or if he's got something more in mind, see if-

"You know," Steve says, parting from Tony just far enough to bring his mouth to Tony's ear, "it's amazing. Even when your mouth is occupied," Steve's tongue flicks out to taste Tony's earlobe briefly, a horrible tease, "I can still hear you rambling."

And, yeah. That does the trick. Whatever gear that had started going in overdrive was effectively disconnected. Just taken right out of the machine that made up his mind.

Now normally Tony would be a bit offended by the fact his best friend had just told him to shut up. Mid make out however, he feels it's justified.

Plus, he did it so elegantly. So suggestively. So...

Deliciously.

So, mission accomplished. Tony is all in for it now. No brain noise throwing "what ifs" at him, like this wasn't already the biggest "what if" that could've happened to him, ever.

"Sorry, sir," Tony managed to voice, sounding slightly out of breath, and just a bit more like he actually meant it than he intended.

Steve's breath puffed out sharply against his ear at that and the resulting shiver up Tony's spine was a nice confirmation that neither of them actually wanted to stop.

Tony was too dignified to fist pump at the thought. But it was a near thing.

Tony, in true Tony fashion, continued on. "Maybe you're not occupying me as well as you think you are. Captain." He couldn't help adding the title on to the end, just to check.

"Oh, Iron Man." Steve pulls back enough to lock eyes with Tony. "Haven't you learned not to challenge me by now?"

The spark of fun in Steve's eye could either be taken as a threat or a promise. Tony does indeed know well enough to take it for what it truly is: both.

"I don't know, Cap. Sparring with you is fun and all, but it's an awfully long way to the gym."

Shaking his head, a smirk lighting up his expression, but still maintaining that intensity that's making Tony's heart race, Steve's answer, whispered low, right in his ear, damn near makes Tony's knees buckle.

"Who said anything about the gym? I can take you right here. Right now."

And oh, was that unfair of him. He's not even saying anything dirty, it's all hidden in the context, subtle, classy, controlled.

Just like Steve. And it's already getting to Tony, even before Steve pushes back against him, invading his personal space, gentle but commanding.

He goes in for another kiss, then another, and another, each marked by a step backwards that Tony doesn't even resister until he's already backed against the wall, Steve crowding him in the best of ways.

Once Tony let's his head touch the wall, Steve pulls away from the kiss again, trailing his lips to Tony's ear one more time, "Is this okay?"

Because, of course, only Steven Grant Rogers could be pressed against a man, feeling the very obvious evidence that he is very much okay with how things are going, and still need to ask beforehand.

Foregoing any verbal answer, Tony rolled his hips against Steve's thigh where it had fitted between his legs again. He was hard, the movement making his breath catch.

Steve's reaction matched his, drawing a shuddering breath before closing his teeth on Tony's earlobe and giving a sharp nibble to accentuate the movement of his groin, pressing Tony further into the wall.

Rutting against each other, chests heaving, Steve worked his teeth and lips and tongue down Tony's neck, biting, sucking, and laving at the marks he left behind.

Tony doesn't remember being so turned on by such innocent actions before. Tony clutched at Steve's shirt, realizing they were both fully clothed still. Steve's hands had come to grip Tony's hips, controlling his movements just enough that Tony knew any move he made was because Steve was allowing it.

Interesting. He'd never thought himself to be that kind of person but, damn, if that thought didn't make him ache, his pulse stronger in his cock than anywhere else in his body at the moment.

Steve let a hand sneak under Tony's shirt, fingers digging into where love handles would be, thumbs grazing hip bones, heat spreading from any and all points of contact.

Bruises. Bruises were another thing Tony surprised himself by suddenly craving above all else. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to continue in this exact moment until he had perfect hand prints on each hip, matching up to the hands of none other than Steve Rogers.

Steve kept up the movements of their hips, speeding up, only to falter a moment before spreading back down. Tony was going crazy, he needed more than this amount of stimulation, he wasn't in his twenties anymore.

"Come on, Steve, uhhh," he broke off on a groan. "What're you waiting for?" His voice was more pleading than he had meant it, having aimed for teasing.

"Oh, shit, Tony," Steve forced out between breaths, "Tony, I can't, ah, last much longer, mmm, wanted to show you-" that seemed to be the end of his composure. His eyes fluttered between half-lidded, pupils blown wide with his arousal, and tight shut, as though he could block some of it out by not seeing Tony.

Fortunately, that did a lot for Tony. Hearing Steve struggle to control himself, usually the paragon of self control, face flushed with effort, a rare sight, hair tousled from Tony's fingers gripping it (and hey, when had he done that?) and suddenly he wasn't all that far off from where Steve was, damn near exactly where he wanted to be.

"Touch me. Please, Steve, I need," and suddenly Steve's right hand was on him, through the layers of clothing, giving barely more than what he was already getting but somehow it was enough. And it's a good thing too because-

"That's all you're getting. You come from this or not at all." And, oh shit, that commanding tone had returned to Steve's voice, and apparently Tony's brain and body had decided dominant Steve was the epitome of sexy because oh fuck. Yeah, that'll do it.

Several more rolls of his hips, dragging his cock up and down along Steve's palm, combined with the bite mark Steve gave him as his teeth clamped down on Tony's neck had him twitching, hips juddering as his release punched him square in the gut and left his vision fuzzy.

When he could focus again, he felt Steve slam into him once more before stiffening, pressed as close to Tony's body as possible, letting out a quiet shout, eyelids closed, covering eyes that appeared to be rolling back in his head with the force of his orgasm.

And damn, if Tony were twenty years younger, just that sight and sound alone would've been enough to get him going again, even just after the most intense orgasm he can recall just now.

Possibly ever, but, you know, sex brain. He'd come back to that thought.

"Shit, Tony..." Steve trailed off after he had come back to himself somewhat. "I'm sorry, that was supposed to be...I mean it was never gonna be great but a little better would've been... Dammit, I got one chance and I blew it by-"

Tony cut him off, "Whoa there, Cap, slow your roll a minute would ya? What's this about one chance? And you're apologizing for the most intense orgasm I can recall, why, exactly? Help me out here, big guy."

Steve moved away from him a step or two, trying to get some composure back. "I just... I'm not exactly experienced, I know you know that. You make fun of me for it plenty." His ears and cheeks were bright red now and somehow Tony doubted it was all from their little impromptu workout session. "I know I'm not up to your standards so when you kissed me I thought...I just thought that was my chance to maybe show you that I could... And now it's over and that's just...that."

And damn, how was it possible for a person to have an orgasm intense enough to make their eyes roll back into their skull and then look like a lost little puppy two seconds later? Only Steve...

"Wow. Okay, first, I don't know where you get that I have standards but, trust me, if I did, you meet and well exceed any and all possible standards anyone could imagine. Like, ever. And second, give me like, a couple hours? I'm sure you'll be ready and raring to go in like, ten minutes but we're not all as lucky as you mister 'pinnacle of human perfection.' So if you want, we can just hang out here, get some fresh clothes and maybe some refreshments, before we try for round two?" 

Steve looked startled, as if that was the last thing he ever expected to hear. Then, suddenly shy, he drops his head, and looks over at Tony through his eyelashes asking in disbelief, "You'd be up for that? Really?"

This man. Fuck. Honestly, gonna be the death of Tony, death by cuteness. Ugh.

"I think we've got some talking to do in the meantime, some misconceptions we need to iron out, mostly relating to your apparent lack of functional understanding of how _inhumanly attractive_ you are and _goddamned irresistible_ I find you. But yeah, absolutely. No twisting my arm here. I mean, if that's you 'blowing it' I'm not sure I'll survive you nailing it, although if that's how I go, what a final act-"

Tony was caught off guard by the lips on his, cutting off any further rambling he was sure to have done. 

When Steve pulled back with a soft look on his face, Tony grinned.

Steve gave him a questioning look, to which Tony simply responded "I knew there was a reason I liked to talk so much." 

And Steve just couldn't help himself. For the eye roll he gave Tony, or the kiss that followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Hope it wasn't too difficult to make it to the end. Kudos, comments, and constructive criticism is encouraged and always welcome! Let me know if you think I can wring any more out of this admittedly thin concept lol

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to anyone who made it through! Let me know if you wanna read more or if it's better left as is. I could see it going places (just not sure which places yet) but it also doesn't have to. Let me know! Kudos, comments, constructive criticism are all welcome and appreciated!


End file.
